Cowboys CTK: Quarterback/Punter Danny White Owns #11

The Cowboys will square off for the Governor’s Cup tomorrow against the Houston Texans in the preseason finale, but as it stands we are currently 11 days away from putting the shoulder pads on and going out there for real!

To keep in rhythm with the beat of the Countdown To Kickoff series that we’ve been playing for the last few months, we are going to commemorate that with the Greatest 11 in Dallas Cowboys History.

Dancing is encouraged.

The Following Players Have All Worn 11 For The Dallas Cowboys:

Cole Beasley*, WR

Drew Bledsoe, QB

Dominique Edison, QB

Shayne Graham, K

Don Heinrich, QB

Buddy Humphrey, QB

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, CB

Mac Percival, K

Mike Quinn, QB

Danny Villanueva, K

Danny White, QB/P

Roy Williams, WR

Wade Wilson+, QB

*Active player on the Dallas Cowboys Roster

+Active player on the Dallas Cowboys Staff

There is something about multi-tools that speaks to the general public. The ability to manage multiple things with an object is a point of convenience that we all like in our lives. The “Swiss army knife” of life is what we’re all looking for, isn’t it?

Dual-threats are such a popular thing in the NFL nowadays. Running backs are coveted because they can run hard AND catch passes out of the backfield. If you’ve kept up with the Houston Texans this preseason they’re using a defensive back at the running back position. Two positions! That’s crazy!

One of the more famous dual-position players for the Dallas Cowboys has been Deion Sanders. Primetime played corner and dabbled a little bit at receiver. As great as he was, there is another dual-position player in Dallas Cowboys History that trumps him.

After a failed third down conversion most quarterbacks trot back to the bench, dejected with their inability to move the chains. The Greatest 11 in Dallas Cowboys History stayed out on the field, booming punts after his quarterback duties were finished for that series.

Danny White

Wilford Daniel White wasn’t too impressive of a quarterback prospect in high school, but man could he play some baseball. Frank Kush, head football coach at Arizona State University, convinced the school’s baseball coach, Bobby Winkles, to offer White a baseball scholarship and allow him to play punter on the football team. Punter, seriously?

The foot of Danny White was spectacular, but his arm wasn’t a fluke. White managed to earn the starting gig for the Sun Devils in the middle of his sophomore season. He was one of the finer quarterbacks AND punters in ASU history.

The Dallas Cowboys

Danny White was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1974 draft, but Tom Landry and Co. were primarily interested in his services as a punter. Wanting to play quarterback, White signed with the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League.

In 1976 the WFL folded and Danny White still wanted to play some pigskin… whether he had to throw it or punt it. He joined the Dallas Cowboys to back up star quarterback Roger Staubach and boom punts downfield when need be.

QB1: Danny White

White took over for Captain America as the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys when the 1980 season kicked off, and he made the overall transition pretty seamless. Danny Boy threw for over 3,000 yards in his first season and also averaged over 40 yards per punt! How cool is that?

Danny White quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys to high levels of success in each of his first three seasons under center. He took America’s Team to three straight NFC Championship Games from 1980-1982, but unfortunately lost all three times.

The thing that is particularly incredible about Danny White is that he did all of this with an enormous amount of pressure on him. Besides managing double duties with quarterbacking and punting through 1984, Danny White was following a legend at the position. While the San Francisco 49ers are rightfully regarded as the dynasty of the 1980s, Danny White kept the Cowboys highly competitive in the National Football League for the early part of the decade, which is highly impressive.

#11: Danny White

Danny earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in 1982, but his finest statistical season came in 1983 when he posted 3,980 yards and 29 touchdowns. Keep in mind you kids who are into fantasy football, at this point in NFL History 4,000 yards was very difficult to achieve.

I like long walks on the beach, mystery novels, no just kidding those suck. The Dallas Cowboys were put on this earth for us all to love and appreciate. I do that 24/7/365. I also love chicken parmesan. Let's roll.
@RJOchoa if you wanna shout!

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1 Comment

Pajamaparty

November 9, 2017 at 7:45 am

Danny White was very underrated. People forget he was having a big year in 1986 as well when he got his wrist broken and was never the same after that. The biggest mistake Tom Landy ever made was benching him for half the season in 1984 for Gary Hogeboom. White was really good and could have been a borderline Hall of Famer.

Cowboys Chill While Pats & Rams Set to Thrill

If you were to check out the line on the Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, you might wander over to Sportsbook Review, where you could read a 5Dimes review and see what all the best online sportsbooks, first and foremost among them 5Dimes, are dealing on this intriguing matchup. Tom Brady and the Patriots, much to everyone’s chagrin outside the six New England states, are back in it – again – and are currently slight favorites over the emerging LA Rams.

In New England’s 37-31 victory over the Chiefs, the Patriots did what they always seem to do, which is rally late and win in dramatic fashion. It’s become almost a ho-hum experience in New England while the rest of the country bites on a bullet, cursing the embarrassment of riches and success that has been the standard of this Patriots’ franchise for two decades. But this was supposed to be the season that the dynasty would end after viewing Tom Brady’s often mediocre performances and his All-World tight end, Rob Gronkowski, hobbling up and down the field without the same reckless abandon as we’ve seen in year’s past. And then their only truly talented speed merchant capable of stretching the field, Josh Gordon, left the team under a cloud of suspicion.

Unfortunately for the rest of the nation, the Patriots' once porous defense coalesced into a rather stout unit and apparently, the two weeks between the end of the regular season and the start of the Patriots’ postseason was enough time for Brady to heal from his rumored sprained MCL that he had been dealing with in silence all season long.

Gronkowski must have also visited the same shaman as Brady because he looked as dominating as ever in ripping the Chiefs on every critical third-down throughout the final quarter. Finally, the conduit to much of Brady’s success, Julian Edelman, is now being mentioned as a Hall-of-Fame candidate when his run is done.

It’s all a bit much for everyone else, but not for Patriots Nation.

The LA Rams will be the Patriots’ latest foe on the league’s grandest stage as they have a burgeoning superstar in Jared Goff. Los Angeles tore through the regular season off of the golden arm of Goff and his Juggernauts, winning 13 of 16 and earning a first-round bye. Their first foray into the 2018 postseason was a 30-22 win over the determined but overwhelmed Dallas Cowboys. The Rams then traveled to the lair of Drew Brees and the Saints down on the bayou and came away with a 26-23 overtime victory.

However, had it not been for an inexcusable non-call, it is far more likely LA would be watching, rather than participating in this year’s Super Bowl. If you didn’t see it or hadn’t heard about it, then the question begs; why are you reading this article?

Of course, you know that LA’s cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman steamrolled New Orleans’ wideout Tommylee Lewis as Brees’ pass was descending toward Lewis inside the five-yard line. It was a penalty without a flag and that one blown call forced the Saints to settle for a field goal that pushed them ahead 23-20. Yet, there was still enough time on the clock to give Goff and his prolific Rams’ offense one last gasp at either tying the game or putting a dagger through the hearts of Saints’ fans everywhere with a touchdown in the waning moments.

It was the former and not the latter that occurred, but an errant pass by Brees in overtime sealed the deal as the Rams picked it off and ultimately ended the contest off the thunderous foot of Greg Zuerlein.

If you want to check out the line movements over the next two weeks for Super Bowl LIII then get on over to Sportsbook Review, read the 5Dimes review, and see exactly where the money is moving the spread as well as the total in the game. Buckle up Cowboys’ fans, it’s gonna get even more interesting as February 3rd draws near.

Tell me what you think about "Cowboys en Español: Hablemos de los Coaches" in the comments below, or tweet me @MauNFL and let’s talk football! If you like football and are looking for a Dallas Cowboys show in Spanish, don’t miss my weekly Facebook Live! show, Primero Cowboys!

2018 Draft Class Season Review: LB Leighton Vander Esch

As the first round draft pick of America's Team, any player would be under a ton of pressure from all angles. Whether it's from the fans on the outside or the organization on the inside, the expectations around being a first round pick for the Cowboys are immense. But the pressure placed upon linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, from the second he was announced as the 19th overall draft pick, was second to none.

It felt like Cowboys Nation let out a collective groan when Vander Esch was taken, with fans hoping for a more glamorous first round selection. Someone like wide receiver Calvin Ridley or edge rusher Harold Landry would've done the trick, but after Vander Esch's rookie season it's hard to imagine either of those players would have had the impact Vander Esch did in 2018.

Though he didn't start a game until week 4, and didn't become the unquestioned full-time starting WILL until week 10, Vander Esch earned Pro Bowl honors for his rookie season. Tallying 140 total tackles and 2 interceptions, Vander Esch made his presence felt week in and week out.

Prior to the 2018 season, the Cowboys defensive success often came down to the health of Sean Lee. When available and playing at his best, Lee led an overachieving Cowboys defense to solid performances each week. But, when Lee went out (as he often did), the entire Cowboys defense seemed to fall apart.

This year, though, that all changed. When Sean Lee was out with injury the Cowboys defense got better. Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith became a versatile, hard hitting tandem the NFL immediately feared, and helped to direct the Cowboys defense to signature wins throughout the 2018 season.

There are arguments against taking any off-ball linebacker in the first round, as the value of the position has been questioned due to the new style of offense in the NFL. Nowadays linebackers are relegated to two-down players, taken off the field in favor of faster defensive backs on critical passing downs.

Leighton Vander Esch is athletic enough to be both an old school run stopper, but also a three down linebacker in today's fast paced NFL.

Despite the doubts which surrounded the pick, the Cowboys absolutely nailed their first round selection in 2018. And Leighton Vander Esch made Dallas' front office look like geniuses each and every Sunday.